November 21, 2013 5:36pm ESTNovember 21, 2013 3:47pm ESTCould John Calipari really be interested in coaching the Knicks? Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy tells us whether that report is worth getting worked up over, along with a hilarious take on Colorado State's Larry Eustachy.

Sporting News’ Hall of Fame college basketball writer answers five questions burning in his sport—after discovering that his great uncle, Lorenzo “Big Louie” DeCourcy, was not the shooter at the Grassy Knoll.

DeCourcy: Today? With 87 percent of the NBA season still to play and 134 days until the Final Four? The CBS Sports report that the New York Knicks would/should/maybe/will consider pursuing Calipari if/when they replace Mike Woodson seems curiously timed, but at least this time it came after a key recruiting period closed.

The Knicks are bad, but they’re also playing without an essential player because of injury: center Tyson Chandler. It seems premature to be replacing the coach. But let’s say the Knicks are coach-shopping sometime next spring. What’d be in it for Calipari to take the job?

More money? John’s never been one to turn down more money—except when he has, such as in moving to Kentucky despite an offer to stay in Memphis that would have paid him slightly more. He’s already making $5 million plus and still has cash from his New Jersey Nets contract settlement that he’ll never spend.

The chance to show he can “get it done” at the NBA level after struggling in his first trip to the league? If it’s really about personal challenges here, who appears more imposing as an opponent at this moment: Erik Spoelstra or Bill Self? Mike Krzyzewski or Terry Stotts? The NBA has some extraordinary basketball coaches, but it’s not like the old days when Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson, Larry Brown and Pat Riley were holding court. Brown’s in college now, you’ll recall.

If the Knicks somehow could promise Calipari they could completely realign their roster in order to have a genuine chance at free agent LeBron James and some guys he’d be willing to play with, perhaps that might be an attractive enough incentive. But there’s nobody like that already in place, excepting maybe Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony can tie up nearly $50 million in cap space next season if they wish. And owner James Dolan’s reputation is so soiled it’s hard to imagine either James or Calipari wanting anything to do with the perpetual Knicks mess.

Marcus Smart (AP)

2) Seeing what we have from both Kansas and Oklahoma State, who has the edge in this league right now?

DeCourcy: I’d love to be able to cop out and say it’s all about who’s got the tougher schedule—which you can pull in nearly every other top league—but the Big 12’s decision to remain at 10 members means the basketball competition still consists of a double round-robin. The only thing better in college hoops than a double round-robin league schedule is the NCAA Tournament. So bless the Big 12 for that.

So that means we’ve got to look at these two great teams and pick one? OK. Then I’m going Kansas. Because even though Marcus Smart is a fair bet to finish as this season’s Naismith Award winner, KU still has more options, greater versatility—and more potential.

The potential mostly is contained in the expected improvement of freshman center Joel Embiid. I’ll tell you a little story about Embiid from the Champions Classic. He was struggling to make an impact on that game when he wound up all alone, wide open, with the ball in his hands just to the right of the top of the key. There was 5:29 on the clock, and KU was up by a point. Embiid fired a 3-pointer that missed.

There were gasps from some in the KU crowd, and even on press row. A 7-footer taking a 3-pointer at that point in the game? But right away I said, nope, it’s good that he shot that. Kansas needs him to believe he can be great. Those of us who watched KU practice recognize he’s got that sort of range. So it wasn’t a crazy shot. It wasn’t perfectly timed, but it suggested he was feeling comfortable. Next time out, he shot 7-of-7 from the field. By Big 12 season, Embiid might be a force. At the least, he’ll be a presence. I don’t know how KU or anyone else will contain Smart, but the Jayhawks still have more answers.

Larry Eustachy (AP Photo)

3) Colorado State coach Larry Eustachy was awfully upset with the “touch fouls” being called against his Rams in Wednesday’s loss to UTEP, saying the NCAA rules changes are “about money. Let’s face it: They want scoring up, which means they want more fans, so it’s really not about the student-athlete and that’s why I got into this profession—the student-athlete. I’m going to protect these guys who work so hard for me and this university.“ Man, is that rich or what?

DeCourcy: I think we have to put ourselves in the places of Eustachy and the CSU players before we truly can judge him. I can just picture Eustachy going into living rooms last autumn and telling prospects, right there in front of their families:

Look, I understand these other programs are promising they’ll play you 30 minutes a night and get you 15 shots, that you can try all the 3-pointers you want and play run-and-gun basketball. But I know you, son. I know your game. I know you’re dreaming of the day you can go into The Pit and hand-check New Mexico’s Kendall Williams until he weeps. I know that you wade into the school cafeteria line and practice your arm-bars on the way to the mystery meat. That’s who you are, champ. And you know it. And you know that Fort Collins and CSU are the best place for you to learn how to grind all these pretty boys into the court.

So how can we blame Eustachy for feeling aggrieved?

4) There’s been a lot of high-scoring performances early on this season. Is much of this a product of the new rules, or is this a product of early-season basketball?

DeCourcy: It’s the rules. Because we expect Kentucky to hang a hundy on UT Arlington, but Evansville on Valparaiso? Oklahoma State on Memphis? Wisconsin on anybody? It’s a different game, clearly. If it weren’t, would Larry Eustachy be appealing for “student-athlete” welfare?

5) I believe you're on board with the Final Four homer broadcasts. But if I'm Jim Nantz, I don't like how it devalues me as the voice of this event. Agree?

DeCourcy: I come at this from a sort of curious perspective. I haven’t watched a live Final Four broadcast since 1993, and I’ve only seen four total Final Four games on television since 1986. I’ve been in the building for every other game. So my viewpoint on the concept of doing three separate telecasts—one more oriented toward each participant, and one for the broad national audience—mostly stems from watching my teams compete for championships.

I can’t say I was anything less than pleased listening to Doc Emrick and NBC present the two recent Stanley Cup finals the Pittsburgh Penguins reached. He does a magnificent job playing directly down the middle. But I’m still a little irked at how John Madden’s criticism of the officiating in Super Bowl XL diminished my enjoyment of the Steelers’ victory.

Any connection to his continued griping about the Immaculate Reception 40 years later? One could certainly make that case. I know this: In that circumstance, I’d rather listen to someone on my side, so to speak.

As for Nantz’s position, I believe he’ll call his 24th Final Four this April. He has won multiple Emmys and the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Award. It’s pretty hard to devalue all of that.